3 boys, a handful of careers, lots and lots of pro bono work

Flashback Friday: the town pool

For about three years we lived in a suburban town in Pennsylvania. I turned 6,7& 8 in that town before we moved on to Manhattan. Those summers we spent there I was 5,6 & 7 ( I have Christmas time birthday. As do my sisters. Also my parents had their wedding anniversary at that time, both worked in the church and we always moved at Christmas. I’m sure this means something – I just have no idea what it is.) Anyway, this suburban town (Pottsgrove!) had a town pool & in this chloriney pool down a big steep hill, I learned to swim. I skinned my knees many time on the pavement around that pool, on the steep path down from the office where we turned in our funny paper key tag things that showed our membership. I also skinned them many times on the path up to the snack bar where we’d occasionally be allowed cherry cokes and frozen candy bars. The pool was shaped like a block letter C. The near lower segment being the 12 foot section meant for diving only, the long lap section ranging from 10ft to 4ft and the upper block segment of the C being 3ft deep. In that little box roped off from the rest of the pool, I learned to swim. With my dad mostly. I think I may have had some lessons. I seem to remember some sort of group swim setting. I mostly remember going there with my mom who loved to cool off in the water for about 5 minutes at time & would then return to the surrounding lawn where all the mothers sat in their chairs and guarded our snacks. At least that’s why I thought. I’m sure they were chatting & bonding & pondering when we’d ever grow up/stop growing just like I do with my own friends now. So mostly I just swam with kids. I can remember being afraid to go off the tall diving board. I never did go off it. I could swim. I’m not sure whether it was the heights that bothered me or whether it was the depth kids seemed to plummet to in that 12ft pool before popping back up. In any case, it didn’t matter. I hardly ever went over to that side of the pool because it was near the tanning deck. The tanning deck was for teenagers. I did not really know very many actual teenagers except my best friend’s older sisters. No one ever exactly told me not to go to the tanning deck, but I sorta figured it out. They were all over their being old, lying on their towels being all old instead of swimming. Occasionally, my friend Margie would sneak up there to beg her older sister to come into the deep, deep end with us and we were usually shooed away. This didn’t really surprise us. My older sister was not as old as all that & she -with her friends – were still much, much older than Margie & I were but could usually be convinced to come with us to the deep end of the lap section -this was so that our mothers wouldn’t have to come. There were lifeguards, but there were also a billion kids there on a hot summer day, so we had a bit of a system. Lots of kids we knew were fish. They’d clearly been swimming since babyhood & we caught up fairly quickly. I was never quite old enough for the swim team in the years we lived there, but my sister Jen was. I remember going to her meets in the evenings. It was both exciting and also horrible. We were at the pool & I could not swim, but Jenni could. How unfair is that? (Ask my friend Jill!) At the same time, it was exciting to go visit her on her towel where she sat eating dried jello packets for energy (how far were they swimming, anyway?) This was way back in ancient history (early 80s) when one could not swim until one had digested one’s meal for 30 minutes.Apparently, jello packets were the one great exception to this digesting/swimming potential catastrophe! Frozen candy bars took a full 30 minutes sitting on the towel in the hot sun by the way. There may have been a four square court – we could run, but not swim on frozen candy.

In the end of it all, I became the more frequent swimmer in our family. I swam all through high school to avoid gym class – I mean because of a bad back (sorry dad). I also swam all through college (not competitively, it was just a free, heated empty pool when it was not swimming season!). I still love to swim and have dedicated a two full weeks of my life this summer to swim lessons. We go each morning & have little energy for anything else. My kids are learning at the town pool, with its no running on the pavement rule & no food on the pooldeck rule and we all get out if it thunders rule. It’s almost exactly the same (comes with tanning deck!) I have had a busy summer, but I have had some chance to swim besides town swim lessons. The best of all was a summer adventure with Jen herself. I decided we had to go swim into this waterfall in the Adirondacks. The day I had picked was not the warmest of the week, but the water was not as cold as it looked. We trekked in the short walk from the road and found the sunniest rock to leave our fleeces on. As we waded in a nice woman on shore said “watch out for the leeches.” I though that was nice. Kids were jumping off rocks and people were generally clambering all over the falls. The bottom was rocky, but the falls were clearly accessible (ignore whitewater, swim around it.) I hear a shout from behind me “this is all your fault!” Whatever, go eat your jello! In we went, and now it is documented by our mom with her camera. What is funny is that over the years our mother has probably dozens of pictures of us with some of the same expressions on our faces, only in these shots we happen to be in a waterfall.So there it is, the woman I grew up swimming with is an incredibly beautiful person who doesn’t really like the cold, but loves the spa treatment feeling of the waterfall on the back of her neck. She’s just come into a shower of goodness in her life in the form of a lovely man with a super sweet daughter & I just couldn’t be happier – except for that time she came into the deep end with me and also let me lick some of her dried red jello. Oh God, Jenni, I have horrible, horrible news: dad was right – it is an adventure!!

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This is a very cool story. Every time I hear of people being close with their siblings, it makes me smile. I am very close with my sister, and think that’s the way it’s supposed to go. And then I hear of people who are not, and that makes me very very sad… Awesome pictures. I want to get into that waterfall now.

This is a very cool story. Every time I hear of people being close with their siblings, it makes me smile. I am very close with my sister, and think that’s the way it’s supposed to go. And then I hear of people who are not, and that makes me very very sad… Awesome pictures. I want to get into that waterfall now.

Ooo goody I think I’m the first commenter!First of all, I love hearing your stories of childhood…especially the early years because it helps me remember too. My memories are weaker, earlier and foggier, but I totally remember the weird paper key pool pass thing! Anyway, I love seeing through your eyes.And how much do I LOVE these photos! Will be needing prints and a frame! You are both way way beautiful! It’s awesome to see you guys having fun together like that (without the kiddos for a change).Also, have to say photo #5 is like, the hot Rosenblum pin up girl photo. Love love,your little sis who still hates putting her head underwater

Ooo goody I think I’m the first commenter!First of all, I love hearing your stories of childhood…especially the early years because it helps me remember too. My memories are weaker, earlier and foggier, but I totally remember the weird paper key pool pass thing! Anyway, I love seeing through your eyes.And how much do I LOVE these photos! Will be needing prints and a frame! You are both way way beautiful! It’s awesome to see you guys having fun together like that (without the kiddos for a change).Also, have to say photo #5 is like, the hot Rosenblum pin up girl photo. Love love,your little sis who still hates putting her head underwater

Your flashback brought up so many “town pool” memories for me Karen.For some reason, the Jell-o eating is causing me much laughter… I think I can actually picture it.What great photos of you and your sister under the waterfall- so speacial.

Your flashback brought up so many “town pool” memories for me Karen.For some reason, the Jell-o eating is causing me much laughter… I think I can actually picture it.What great photos of you and your sister under the waterfall- so speacial.